– Manufacturing has for a long time been increasingly moved from high-cost to low-cost environments, for example from Sweden to Asia. This causes major problems related to employment, growth and economy in the Western world. To be able to keep production in high-cost environments in general, and in Sweden in particular, manufacturers operating in these environments must develop a more competitive production and improved performance, says project leader Per Hilletofth, who works as Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the School of Engineering, Jönköping University.

The aim of the research project is to develop a method which can assist companies in identifying and prioritising improvement measures (key factors) in the manufacturing.

- Today we lack methods and tools that identify, prioritise and evaluate key factors in a holistic and systematic way. There is also a lack of guidance in how to handle key factors to support manufacturers in their struggle to remain competitive, says Per Hilletofth.

Together, the researchers and companies participating in the project will identify, evaluate and prioritise key factors that enable competitive manufacturing in a high-cost environment. Further, they will analyse how companies may handle these factors to secure improved performance and competitiveness as well as preserved or increased production volumes in high-cost environments.